I take influence from everywhere and throw it at whatever I can

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us here at Metal On Loud. I actually had the opportunity to see you guys open for Protest The Hero last fall in St. John’s on the Kezia Tour. I know you guys have said how much that tour meant to you guys.

Oh yeah definitely. It was great to be a part of that. We walked on to basically a bunch of sold out shows already. We just kind of got to reap all of the benefits and play with some of our heroes. It was an awesome, awesome tour for us.

Yeah absolutely, and you talk about reaping the benefits, especially with a band like Protest The Hero and an album like Kezia that everyone knows. Then people hear this opening band who blows them away. You cultivate a fan base along the way. I know a lot of guys who walked away fans after that tour.

That’s what we like to hear. That’s kind of what we were hoping would happen. I think the Protest fans, we definitely get some run-off from them to get into our music. It was just great. We got to meet a bunch of new people who like that kind of music. It was a very easy tour for us to enjoy and have a good time on.

It’s been a big couple of years for you guys. Kicking off 2016 you guys released your debut studio album Coral Throne, which is really an awesome piece of work. I know you guys worked really hard on it.

Thank you so much. Yeah we did and things were a little different this time around. We were writing a full-length, which none of us had ever done before. We were on a label, which is something nobody here had ever done before. It was a bit of a learning curve for us, but we’re extremely proud of this record and we love every song on it and we’re happy it’s getting pretty well received from what we can see. We’re playing some tunes from it on this tour. It’s been a blast.

Tell me about your introduction to the band? I know you came on board a little later.

Matt, Sam and Adam were kind of just hanging out at the jam hall in Guelph where we lived. Matt was trying out for a different band, Sam was kind of in the other band for a bit and Adam was actually just his ride into town because he lives about a half hour away. They just started hanging out and were going to write some music together instead of doing this other band. Then Steve, Adam’s brother, slowly joined. James was a longtime friend and he slowly entered the picture. Myself, I was in a cover band with Sam and he asked me if I wanted to join and I told him that i didn’t. I didn’t really understand what they were doing and I didn’t get it. They asked me to try out and I said ‘ah, no I don’t think so.’ He eventually coaxed me into doing it and I haven’t look back since.

Ha ha! I think you made the right choice.

Yeah absolutely, I definitely think I made the right choice in saying yes eventually.

You guys got to open up for Megadeth in 2014, which obviously for a young band starting out is a huge deal. How insane was that?

It was crazy. A couple of weeks before we got a call from our agent in Canada and asked if we could play with them in Buffalo (New York). We were supposed to play with them in Buffalo the month before at a 14,000 person venue, but we couldn’t get our visas together in time and we didn’t want to sneak over the border and screw ourselves over in the long run. So we unfortunately had to turn it down. They were playing Casino Rama, which was two or three hours outside of our home town the next night. They asked if we could do that and we somehow agreed. The stage that we played on was bigger than most of the venues we’re playing. It was unreal, having that kind of luxury playing a show. We had dressing rooms and a rider and they gave us $100 each to eat. It was just wild. Dave Mustaine actually said we were good on stage, which is pretty high praise I think. It was an experience, and I hope that we get to do some more of that eventually.

That’s one hell of an endorsement when Dave Mustaine says you’re good. Talking about influences, what were some of the bands that shaped your sound?

I was never a massive metal guy. I’ve slowly become one. I always liked heavier stuff, but I was kind of listening to the lighter side of most of that. I loved Avenged Sevenfold, and still do. I really like Emorosa. A lot of my vocal influences, I really like Michael Jackson, Prince, Boys II Men. I’m a big fan of melodies. Anything with a good hook I’m pretty in to. As for metal I like Thrice. I was more of an emo kid for awhile, but now I’m getting into Between The Buried And Me, and Protest is up there for me. It’s a melting pot of music that I listen to. I take influence from everywhere and throw it at whatever I can.

What would be your definitive metal album?

To be honest I’d say Avenged Sevenfold’s City of Evil. That kind of got me into it. The first time I heard that album it was like ‘holy shit what is this!’ It’s kind of a bit of cheap metal to some people, but I love it. I think it’s great.

Yeah for sure, they’re a band that are kind of either worshiped or hate. Not really much in between.

Yeah, and those are the bands that end up being successful.

You’re touring in support of Coral Throne in Canada right now. How would you like to see the rest of the year go for the band?

I would like more touring. I think that’s essentially what’s on our docket. We’re doing some shows in the States on this run. We’d like to do more extensive touring there, hit Europe at some point. We’d like to come out to the Rock again (Newfoundland), which we’re trying to do. Come out and see you guys again. We love it out there. Just more touring and get the word on Coral Throne out there and once the tour is over start writing a new record.

It’s an awesome record, congratulations. We’d love to have you guys back here. Thanks so much for the time.